Ubuntu Certified Professionals

Wed Apr 5 15:59:22 UTC 2006

Paul Flint wrote:
> On Tue, 4 Apr 2006, Jane Silber wrote:
>>
>> Today the Linux Professional Institute (LPI) and Canonical Ltd. jointly
>> announced the development of a certification exam for the Ubuntu
>> distribution. This certification exam will enable qualified candidates
>> to demonstrate specific expertise in the professional use of Ubuntu
>> <http://www.ubuntu.com>. The certification exam will be launched in
>> Johannesburg, South Africa, May 16 - 19, 2006.
>>
>> The Ubuntu certification will consist of a single exam on top of LPI's
>> existing 101 and 102 exams. This will give candidates the advantage of
>> an existing global standard, LPIC-1, plus the "Ubuntu Certified
>> Professional" status. The exam is being developed by LPI's product
>> development team and Ubuntu community members from around the globe. The
>> exam is expected to be completed in early May with the first paper exams
>> being available in mid-May to qualified LPIC-1 candidates who are
>> attending LinuxWorld Johannesburg. The computer-based testing version
>> will be made available later in June through Thomson Prometric and
>> Pearson VUE testing centres around the world. Initial exam price has
>> been set at $100 US.
>>
>> For more information, see http://www.ubuntu.com/news/ubuntucert
>
> Dear Jane,
>
> Greetings from Linuxworld Boston.
>
> I sincerely disagree with this approach to certification.
>
> I believe that the only proper way to gain stature in the Ubuntu
> community is through participation in the process, the community, and
> finally by contribution of Code.  This form of commercial certification,
> at best merely exacerbates an economic incentive for good test takers
> with rote knowledge, and at worst disadvantages those who code without
> economic ability.  Jane this discriminates against those not fortunate
> enough to have $100.00, a good portion of the Third World!
>
> I have seen the disastrous work and depreciation of "Certified
> Professionals" in data processing in my lifetime, beginning with Novel
> Certified Network Engineers (CNEs), Microsoft System Certified Engineers
> (MSCEs), through the current debacle with Certified Information System
> Security Professionals (CISSPs).  Please do not depreciate what good
> coders worldwide have written with this "administrivia".
>
> I would plead to the Community Council to immediately intervene in this
> very important matter of Professional Certification and beg its council
> and insight on this crucial matter.  I assure you that the humans that
> built "Linux for Human Beings" are worth more to this world than a damn
> $100.00 test.  I respectfully, as an outsider place myself at their
> disposal and agenda towards this discussion.
>
> I call upon the *buntu community (and its surrounding universe) to
> understand its own diverse nature and look towards a certification
> process that enhances what we are all about... hacking the Code.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Paul Flint
> 8 Lague Drive
> Montpelier, Vermont
> 05602
>
> http://www.flint.com/home
> skype: flintinfotech
> Work: (202) 537-0480
>  Fax: (703) 852-7089
>    +1 (802) 552-4143
>
> http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/4192

Hi all.  Since I was explicitly CC'd in several of these messages, I
thought I'd weigh in, and hope I'm not displaying my ignorance too much.
But not wanting to bother everyone I've trimmed the CC's a bit, and hope
that if anything I say really resonates, it will make its way to the
appropriate eyeballs. (That and I'm not subscribed to all those mailing
lists in the initial CC's.)

I find myself, as oft I do, somewhere between Mr. Elkner and Mr. Flint.
(Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?) ;-)

I would ask "What makes Ubuntu different from other distro's?"  The
answer to that question should determine what makes Ubuntu Certification
different from other Linux certifications.  I'm not talking about the
niggling technical differences (e.g. "use sudo instead of su").  I'm
thinking more about "philosophical" differences, if you will.

Red Hat already has an EXCELLENT (ball-buster) certification exam.  (I
barely squeaked through for 6.2, and then blew it on RHEL3.) As for
LPI, I've only taken the first of their series, and it was "okay, I
guess" but I didn't feel accomplished after passing it.  Something
about the multiple-choice nature of it, I suspect. Dunno about
their higher levels.

Credentials that indicate a certain level of knowledge regarding the
inner mysteries of Ubuntu ;-) will be worth something, and having an exam
offers a standard benchmark.  But is administering Ubuntu harder than other
distros?  If not, then to a large extent this exam seems ALMOST a re-brand-
ing of an LPI variant.  Advantage: It gets Ubuntu's name out in the field
in yet another way, both via the exam itself, and the folks who walk around
later with a piece of paper proclaiming them to be Certified Ubuntu
Uber-Geeks, as people will ask what exactly that means.

However, there seems to me to be a dearth of certifications regarding
coding/packaging/developing for any distro.  Honestly, I haven't really
looked.  Maybe they're out there and not as well advertised as the
LPI and RHCE stuff. (I didn't look for LPI or RHCE either, but was
aware of them from several sources.)  It would be "most excellent" if
Ubuntu could make a name for itself in that area.  In particular, it
would be cool to have this available at the secondary school level.
I know at least one teacher that would love to have Python be at the
core of his state-wide advanced placement exam standards. ;-)

As for exam cost, in addition to discounts, scholarships and/or
"special" rates, perhaps some sort of barter could be established.
Volunteer for community service, contribute code, etc. That may
prove to be an administrative nightmare, but if not, it would be a
possibility for growing the community by having "stockholders"
"invest" in the community, not just in the certificate.

Finally, Ubuntu's done an excellent job of building a community of non-
technical users.  I'm not certain what sort of "certification" is
appropriate, but something other than membership in the Community
Council might be useful.  I don't know if there's a good objective
way to measure who qualifies.  Whatever sort of recognition is
available, it should be something that carries some weight outside
of IRC meetings -- an endorsement of the individual that says to
an outsider, "We the great and powerful [Oz|CC|Canonical|sabdfl] do
hereby stand behind so-and-so as someone who has the best interests
of the community at heart, and has demonstrated that via x, y, and
z.  Although perhaps not the most technically skilled person we've
ever encountered, we encourage you to trust this individual in helping
you build your community. (Pay no attention to that man behind the
curtain.)"

Thoughts?  Laughter?  Resonance?

-- 
 Kevin Cole                    |  Key ID: 0xE6F332C7
 Ubuntu Linux DC LoCo Team     |     WWW: http://wiki.ubuntu.com/KevinCole
 Washington, D.C.  (USA)       |   Phone: +1.202.234.0213

 "Using vi is not a sin. It's a penance." -- St. IGNUcious, Church of Emacs

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: signature.asc
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 254 bytes
Desc: OpenPGP digital signature
URL: <https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-users/attachments/20060405/a41b7afd/attachment.sig>